ABC spotlights disability inclusion through NDRC partnership

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is an essential public service for all Australians and plays a crucial role in delivering services that reflect and contribute to Australian society, culture and identity.

The ABC is genuinely committed to representing the diverse community it serves – both in the profile of its staff and the content it creates. This means accurately representing the diverse voices and perspectives of the Australian population, including people with disability and inclusivity is an essential aspect of the ABC's internal and external operations.

The organisation is committed to increase participation of diverse talent, both on and off screen, and to ensure its workplace represents Australian society.

After learning about JobAccess’ National Disability Recruitment Coordinator (NDRC), ABC signed up to a 12-month partnership to uphold and expand disability inclusion within the organisation.

ABC sets goals to drive measurable outcomes

ABC’s Diversity and Inclusion Recruitment Adviser, Sheena B, said the organisation first learned about the NDRC during a webinar about workplace adjustments. ABC signed up for the partnership with a range of goals in mind.

“We were hoping to assess how we could improve accessibility for people with disability applying to our jobs. We also wanted to increase our attraction and inclusion of people with disability through the recruitment process by expanding our networks to reach more candidates,” Sheena said.

“Another of our goals was to learn more about how we as recruiters and hiring managers can become more aware and more confident of the candidate experience for people with disability.”

A 200% boost in applications from candidates with disability

NDRC Professional Adviser Rob Crestani got straight to work, helping Sheena and the team increase their disability confidence. This included carrying out a recruitment review, disability awareness training and engagement with disability employment services.

“The recruitment review really helped us highlight recommendations to improve and enhance our recruitment process, whilst disability awareness training helped engage our ABC staff with the experience applicants have when searching for roles and being employed. It also shed light on the many ways removing barriers can benefit everyone, as well as the many advantages of employing people with disability in the workforce,” Sheena said.

“We also reviewed and made adjustments to our recruitment portal and online recruitment website for candidates with disability.”

“Meanwhile, engaging with disability employment services in the first year with JobAccess helped increase our attraction of candidates with disability. One of the biggest improvements we have had over the past year was the increase in representation of people with disability at every stage of the recruitment process.

“Compared to the previous year applications, we saw a 200% increase in applications from people with disability, which is similarly translated at the hiring stage; in 2021 the number of people with disability hired tripled.”

Image: ABC Inclusive logo on the left and the JobAccess Alumni Partner logo on the right.

NDRC support paves the way for long-term changes

The support from JobAccess has helped ABC make lasting changes, according to Sheena. The disability confidence gained from the partnership has allowed the broadcaster to take meaningful and sustainable long-term steps to ensure its workplace remains disability-inclusive and accessible.

“The partnership was a valued source of advice and guidance for a number of successfully launched initiatives, including a workplace adjustment policy and disability awareness training for hiring managers,” Sheena said.

Last updated: 22 March 2023 - 4:58pm